Sam Whitelock: An appreciation post

The 153-cap legend says no to temptation and hangs them up

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Sam Whitelock reckons he could have squeezed a couple more years out of his creaking body.

Speaking from Pau, where the mercury has started to nudge up near 30 and he’s beginning to see why people rave about the south of France, the 35-year-old said that he felt his game still stood up to the harshest scrutiny.

In the end, however, fear won out.

“This is the thing that was going through my head,” Whitelock said. “I’d hate for somebody to come and watch a game I was playing and say to his kid, ‘See that guy there, he used to be awesome.’

“That would really grind my gears.”